The present invention relates to a device for setting a printing medium (such as paper or plastic film) in an electrophotographic printing apparatus or the like.
Continuous printing paper for use in a electrophotographic printing apparatus is contained in a paper supply zone in a state where it is folded in pages; the paper is taken out of the paper supply zone, printed, and then stored in an accumulating zone in the folded state. When this continuous paper is first set at the printing apparatus, the top end of the paper is taken out from the paper supply zone, passed through the printing zone and extended to the accumulating zone, thereby completing the setting operation. When the setting operation is complete, the portion of the paper confronting the printing zone should be the top end portion of one page as defined by the fold lines, that is, the paper should be located at the print starting position.
The conventional medium supply mechanism of an electrophotographic apparatus comprises delivery means for feeding a medium (such as continuous folded paper) along a delivery passage, a medium treating zone (such as a printing zone) mounted on the delivery passage, a medium accumulating zone disposed at the terminal end of the delivery passage, and an initial setting zone for temporarily setting the top end of the continuous medium before the medium treating zone on the delivery passage. In this conventional apparatus, the top end of the continuous medium is once set in the initial setting zone, and in order to engage this medium with a delivery means, the medium is fed to the position of the delivery means by an auxiliary driving device. When the medium is delivered by the delivery means and the top end of the medium is guided to the accumulating zone, the delivery operation is stopped, and the printing medium in the printing zone is set at the predetermined printing-starting position by a manual operation performed by an operator or by an intermittent driving of the delivery means. Thus, the operation of setting the printing medium is completed.
However, this setting method is disadvantageous in that the operation of registering the paper with the printing-starting position is very troublesome and a long time is necessary for this operation.